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MarkEzra

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Posts posted by MarkEzra

    So, what's shake'n?

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by Abbott:

    </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by stikkypixie:

    </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Abbott:

    Hey Mark come to The Peng Thread we get away with talking all kinds of ****te in there.

    Just remember you'll have to clean after him Abbott... </font>
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    Old Forum rules revisited

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Igor: "un-believable"? I'm not sure I follow. BFC reminds us ALL that dissent and respect for opinion are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps your rancor about the game is clouding your thinking. Why would posters be "inflamed" by a re-stating of rules long in existence? And what connection is there between "Not a Peep in two months" and Noting the forum, recently, has not always followed established guidelines? No matter what your POV the forum rules pertain to all.

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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by dalem:

    </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by MarkEzra:

    So what do you think we can do to encourage small developers like BFC to produce the products we few care about?

    Oh, I dunno. How about spending 7 years talking up the game via word of mouth whenever possible, buying multiple copies to give as gifts, forming and maintaining a thriving online and personal community with multiple national and international "nodes", creating and hosting thousands of scenarios and game mods for users on our own dimes, and engaging the developers with wish lists and suggestions?

    No wait, we tried all that, and got no results.

    So I guess the answer is "nothing".

    -dale </font>

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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by thewood:

    To answer your question, only buy games from companies that don't follow the big distribution model. Companies have been successful without it, and now have significant evidence that you really can't be successful with it. If you are trying to mainstream a product, distribution is a must. Wargames are not mainstream anymore and developers that think they are will have difficulty making that model work. [/QB]

    And I certainly agree. Supporting the companies that produce game that I care about is the right way to go. Avoidance of mainstream marketing seems well advised, too. But to not be too much of a "Fan Boy" to your view, let me point out that the hugely successful Close Combat series was a MS product and to this day is ardently played and discussed. So it seems that some games CAN break through. The CM series did not. I noted earlier that BFC noted revenue slips with each release of CMx1. With a Great product, terrific reviews and an enthusiastic, loyal fan base, BFC was not able to increase revenue or market share. Really a quandary. Perhaps something all of us "Nichers" may want to consider.

    I have appreciated your input on a pretty dry subject. But I've touched on all the points I had on the topic... Be my guest to have the final word

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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Two corrections first:

    I have not blamed any customer. If blame need to be assigned it falls at the feet of the developer

    I have not called any customer "stupid"

    Certainly Low sales and high complaints will catch a companies attention. But unlike your example of GM, BFC acknowledged and set about correcting the product defects immediately. And continue to do so. BFC's Top management communicated directly with customers on a very regular basis. That is not the case at the moment. Seemingly a management decision to devote full time to their next effort to resolve customer complaints... V1.05. But certainly some customers will be angry at not having an update.

    let's look at the GM customer pool. Any driver, anywhere may consider a Chevy. Surely that's 100 million people. How many autos are produced by GM each year? Frankly I don't know...perhaps you do. Could we agree that 100,000 units wouldn't be too far off? If GM produces bad quality vehicles and provides bad customer support then that 100 million people WILL look elsewhere. As we know, they did. Most car sales in the US this year is from a Japanese Company. Now the case of BFC is somewhat more problematic.

    In a Niche market like Wargaming There only are a handful of developers, generally struggling to keep their business afloat. By enlarge I would expect a four year development of a new product would be out of the reach of most of these developers. Since realistically the price of their product can't be more than say $100 US dollars and units of sale in the thousands, not the millions, it would be Pretty tough to pour a whole lot of resources into R&D.

    So what can the small pool of Wargame enthusiast do to encourage more and better game developers?

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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by thewood:

    If CMSF fails, someone else will come along. Maybe BFC stumbling a little and moving from CM1 will open up an opportunity for a ToW or Panzer Commander to refocus. [/QB]

    That is certainly the law of market forces. Perhaps BFC stumbling a "little" with the resultant angry outcries excoriating them for even trying to expand their market appeal will actually make developers of TOW and Matrix products NOT wish to improve their products but simply play it safe and avoid losing this tiny market niche they try to eek out a living in. So the question remains: how do Niche consumers encourage Niche Developers to keep providing innovative games?
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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by Rick:

    ...However, this is a business that without some support from the customers, might disappear...

    An interesting point. You know those "How old are you" threads that pop up periodically point out a glaring truth. Most guys who play wargames and read their forums are not in the "targeted demographic age" that generally purchase games. As a group we're most likely a sub class category for targeting by game publishers. If this is true than what should we do to encourage game developers to create games we want rather than what 30 million 12-18 year olds clamor for and purchase first day/full price?

    [ December 03, 2007, 06:11 AM: Message edited by: MarkEzra ]

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    Two newbie questions

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Q2 Be certain to allow enough time for the vehicle to load and unload. Short pauses may not be enough...spotting or other activity may draw out time longer than you have anticipated. There was a long dissertation on the the real life training and difficulty of load and unload...apparently akin to herding cats in RL... The method I TRUST to load and un load is:

    Halt vehicle first (pop smoke as needed) with No movement orders. Infantry order quick move to a specific location you choose. Reverse the order for pick up. Safe and sure every time

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    Troops don't get tired too fast.

    in CMSF Strategy and Tactics Forum

    Posted

    Originally posted by Splinty:

    You guys haven't worn IBA in desert heat, just jogging half a block can be exhausting. Body armor is heavy,awkward, and it traps ALL the bodyheat your torso generates. As a soldier just back from Baghdad I can tell you the slow command acts just about right. At least as far as the fatigue factor is concerned.

    Thanks Splinty you just cleared up something I was wondering about. Syrian forces and especially UnComs should fair better when it comes to crawling...And Splinty...Glad your home and THANKS for your service!!
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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    'Card: I certainly understand how you can feel that way (especially about the painting!!) Many people feel just like you (especially about dead birds in the laundry hamper...a personal favorite in my household). I have found that companies which diligently try to correct mistakes can't assume to satisfy their customers retroactively. Many times the damage done is DONE...sort of like your neighbors leaf blower in too early AM.

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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by Sirocco:

    </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by MarkEzra:

    Responsibility for things under my control...like meeting a deadline...Yes...and said so. Things not under my control I try NOT to be responsible for

    The point isn't in meeting the deadline, it's putting yourself in a position where you have a deadline to begin with. </font>
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    Hype and Whining

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by Sirocco:

    Mark, aside from all the caveats, you're responsible for the things that are under your control.

    As far as your last point is concerned, if I'm understanding you correctly, that's something I thought about earlier. But we're probably talking about scale not a completely different relationship, IMHO.

    Responsibility for things under my control...like meeting a deadline...Yes...and said so. Things not under my control I try NOT to be responsible for

    A thought on "scale": There is an old saying in banking: "when you owe to bank $100 THOUSAND you're in trouble, when you owe the Bank $100 MILLION...the banks in trouble.

    I wonder if a developer of a very popular game franchise (Grand theft auto comes to mind) told it's publisher it wouldn't meet it's contract deadline line and in it's current state the game was barely playable, what the response would be. When the publisher stands to make a very large percentage of it's income from this SINGLE source you'd think they'd be pretty careful. Millions of pissed off fans or in the case of Niche development 1,000's...How can they be treated the same? Let me suggest something else. My understanding of marketing is the best time to introduce a toy or game is before Christmas (in the USA) the worst time to introduce damned near anything is July or August. But Publishers still need new products to release regularly. It's a revenue stream issue.

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    Formations!?

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 1

    Posted

    Originally posted by Scipio:

    MarkEzra, I have tested the vehicel column once again and noticed that works much better now. I assume this has been improofed since V1.0, when I did my first test.

    However, I still think that commands for formations would be very helpfull.

    Certainly. I think I mentioned that my playing SP made me VERY careful of Group commands. But like you if I could order Vehicles to "follow a road ONLY in Column" it would be a nice touch.
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